The 500th Bomb Squadron ("Rough
Raiders") -- one of four squadrons of the 345th Bomb Group (M) -- was activated
at Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina on 11 November, 1942. After
training in the United States and Australia, combat operations of the 500th
Bomb Squadron began in New Guinea in June 1943. Shortly after flying
a few combat missions against the Japanese at medium altitudes, the squadron's
B-25 "Mitchell" bombers were converted to strafers and, for the remainder
of its existence, the squadron flew low-level strafer-bombing missions.
From New Guinea, the squadron continued its combat operations "island hopping"
northward, winding up against the Japanese homeland itself in early August
1945.

During the three years
of its existence in World War II, the 500th contributed well to the following
overall combat record of the 345th Bomb Group:

10,609 Sorties
58,562 Combat flying hours
6,340 Tons of bombs dropped 12,586,000
Rounds of ammunition expended
177 Planes lost
588 Personnel lost on flights
260 Japanese vessels destroyed
275 Japanese vessels damaged
260 Japanese planes destroyed on the ground
107 Japanese planes destroyed in the air

POST WAR NOTE: The
500th Bomb Squadron was reactivated on 19 July, 1954 at Langley AF Base,
Virginia. Reactivation was as the 500th Bomb Squadron (Tactical)
of the 345th Bomb Group (Tactical). Types of aircraft flown by the
reactivated 500th were: B-26 (Douglas) from 1954-1955 and B-57 (Canberra)
flown from 1955-1959. The post-war 500th was deactivated on
25 June, 1959 at Langley AFB, Virginia.